Automatic door-closing device.



E. MOCLURE.

AUTOMATIC. DOOR CLOSING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED 11,111.29. 1909..

mL Patented 001;. 11,1910.

'lslllll E Mln ZCUa r' Ware,

N anic EDWARD MCCLURE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOFRANKLIN P. SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC DOOR-CLOSING DEVICE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 11, 1910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD MCCLURE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Door-Closing Devices,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic door closing devices, and the objectof the invention is to provide a simple and improved form of mechanismin which power will be stored up through the opening of the door, and soarranged that when the latter is released, the power thus stored up willbe employed to automatically close the door.

To such end this invention consists in mechanism on the moving doorwhich cooperates with an element on the stationary part of the inclosureand incorporating a spring' which will be wound up through the openingof the door, together with gearing bet-Ween said mechanism and deviceupon the stationary portion ot' the inclosure arranged to move the doorto a closed position when it is released after having been opened.

The invention further consists in the several novel features ofconstruction and arrangement which .are described in this specicationand particularly pointed out in the claims appended. hereto.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawings furnished herewithin which- Figure 1 is a side view of an inclosure, a door movablethereon, and my improved door closing device applied thereto, Fig. 2 isa vertical cross section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is adetail vertical cross section taken on t-he line 8 3 of Fig. 1, Fig. 4is a detail vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig.3, Fig. 5 is an edge view partly in vertical cross section of a modifiedform of the device and Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section takenon the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

In these views A, represents an inclosure such as is used in offices,banks and the like, for providing a cage, or such an inclosure as isused in inclosing elevator wells. In fact the device may be employed inany situation where a wall is used which contains a doorway and asliding door for closing the same.

B, represents the door which is adapted to close the doorway C, which asshown is formed between two posts 0, of the inclosure. The door iscarried by hangers 10, which contain rollers 1l, that run upon a track12, secured upon the inclosure by blocks or brackets 13.

14 represents stops which limit the movement of the door in eitherdirection. The structure thus far described forms a simple inclosureland door, but it is evident that any well known form of arrangement maybe substituted in its place.

A rack bar 15, is mounted either upon the inclosure A, or upon the doorB, which rack bar engages with a toothed wheel 16, carried by the othermember. In the form shown in the drawings the rack bar 15, is secured tothe side of the track 12, which is supported on brackets 13, projectingoutwardly from the wall of the inclosure A, said rack bar being solocated as to engage a toothed wheel 16, mounted upon a standard 17,secured to the upper edge of the door B. It is evidentthat when the dooris moved along the track 12, the toothed wheel will be turned by reasonof its engagement with the rack bar 15. Rotation of the toothed wheel16, is utilized to wind up a coiled spring 18, which is shown as securedin a housing 19, provided upon' the standard 17. In the form shown inthe drawing one end 21, of the spring is secured to the housing and theother end 22, is secured to the hub 23, of the toothed wheel 16.Rotation of the wheel 16, and its hub 23, in the direction of the arrowin Fig. 4 will wind up the spring and apply tension thereto so that itwill rotate the toothed wheel .in the opposite direction whenever thedoor is released after having been opened, and inasmuch as the toothedwheel 16, engages with the rack bar 15, it will be caused to travelalong said bar and close the door. In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4inclusive, the hub 23, of the toothed wheel 16, turns upon a pin 24,which projects from the inner face of the standard 17, and the toothedwheel is held in place thereon by a washer and screw 25. This particularform of construction is however immaterial to my invention, broadlyspeaking, as any well known bearing may be provided for the toothedwheel.

In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the wheel 10a, of the hanger 10b, isformed With teeth upon one of its flanges which teeth mesh with a rackbar 15a, secured upon the i track l12s. The spring 18a, is conlinedwithin the hollow body of the wheel, one end being shown as secured to apin 21a, which projects out from the hanger 10b, and the other end ofthe spring being secured to the hub 23a, of the wheel 10a. It desiredeither one or both of the wheels of the hangers may be thus providedwith a spring which when wound up by the movement ofthe door in beingthrown open will close the same when it is released.

The device is particularly adapted for use upon doors of cages of banks,counting houses or the like where it is desired that the gate shallclose automatically. It is however applicable to inclosures of elevatorwells or in other positions where it is desirable to employ aself-closing door.

The at vantages oit the device are periectly apparent. t is'eXtremelycheap in construction, can be applied to any sliding door, is efficientin its operation and does not require any great amount of exertion tooperate the same.

am aware that various alterations and modifications of the details ofconstruction are possible without departing from the spirit of myinvention, and I do not therefore desire to limit myself to the exactform of construction shown and described.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. The combination with an inclosure havingI a doorway therein, a trackcarried by the inclosure, a door and door hangers secured to said doorand having wheels traveling on ,the track and arranged to carry saiddoor directly thereunder, of an independent, rotary toothed wheel whichis bodily movable with the door, a stationarily supported rack barmeshing with said toothed wheel and operating to rotate the samewhenever the door is moved toward-its open position and a suitablysupported coiled spring adapted to be wound up by the toothed wheelwhenever the door is moved toward its open position, and operating toturn said toothed wheel back when the door is released.

2. The combination with an inclosure having a doorway therein, a trackcarried by said inclosure, a door and door hangers including flangedwheels carrying said door and running upon said track, of anindependent, stationary raek bar, a standard secured to the door, a.toothed wheel rotatably mounted thereon and meshing with said rack barand a coiled spring, the ends of which are connected to the standard andtoothed wheel respectively and adapted to be wound up whenever the dooris moved in one direction.

3. The combination of a suitably supported track, a door, hangerssecured to the door, wheels journaled in said hangers to run upon saidtrack whereby the door is adapted to travel directly thereunder, astationary rack bar secured to the side of the track below the treadthereof, a standard independent of the door hanger and secured to thedoor, a coiled spring one end of which is connected with the standard, atoothed wheel meshing` with the rack bar and journaled upon thestandard, and a connection between the other end of the coiled springand the toothed wheel.

4. rlhe combination with a suitably supported track, of a door, doorhangers including flanged wheels running` on the track to carry the doordirectly thereunder, a stationary rack bar secured to the side of thetrack, an independent standard carried by the door, a housing on saidstandard, a coiled spring within said housing and having one end securedthereto, and a toothed wheel meshing with the rack bar and `iournaledupon the standard and connected with the other end of the coiled spring.

The combination with an inclosure having a doorway therein and a tracksupported by said inclosure, of a door movably mounted thereon to traveldirectly thereunder, a rack bar secured to the side of the track, anindependent standard secured to the door, a housing thereon, a pivot pinprojecting beyond the housing, a toothed wheel journaled upon said pinand meshing with the rack bar, and a coiled spring within said housing,the ends of which are respectively connected to the toothed wheel andhousing and adapted to be wound up whenever the door is drawn toward itsopen position.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name at Chicago, Cookcounty, Illinois, this 24th day of March A. D. 1909.

EDWARD MCCLURE.

l/Vitnesses K. H. THORP, HY. FRIDSTEIN.

